Aisling Annacotty U16 Girls retain League Cup

The Aisling Annacotty girls won the U16 League Cup final 3-2 on penalties. Game finished 1-1 after extra time with Tara O'Sullivan scoring 1st for Charleville and Laoise Ni Aodha equalised in the 2nd half for Aisling Annacotty. Penalty scorers for Aisling Annacotty were Sarah Cleary, Emma Costelloe and Laoise Ni Aodha. Nadine White and Gabby O'Keeffe scored in the shootout for Charleville. Aisling Annacotty also won the cup last year.

Aisling Annacotty continue in fine form

Aisling Annacotty U16 girls continued their fine form of late, with a 4-2 win at home to Murroe. Murroe opened the scoring after 10 minutes, before a fine cross from Anna Carr found Aisling Doran in space, who wrong-footed the keeper with a well-directed, left footed equaliser. 15 minutes into the second half, Rachel O Dell drew a foul inside the box, and Sarah Cleary gave the Murroe keeper no chance with the resultant spot kick. Back came Murroe however, and Abby McCarthy, who was having a fine game in goal, could do nothing about an excellent second for Murroe’s Cara Griffin. With the game finely balanced, it was all hands to the pumps, with Íde Ní Ifearnáin, Amy Keogh, and Katie Murphy doing Trojan defensive work, and Sarah Cleary mopping up anything that got past them. Then came a moment of inspiration, as Rachel O’Dell powered her way through several attempted tackles, before squaring to Laoise Ní Aodha, who buried the shot with customary panache. The tension ratcheted up as Murroe went after another equaliser, and the defence was grateful for moments of respite due to excellent hold up play from Ally Reeves, Aisling Doran and Finn Pearse, who were having their best games in an Aisling jersey. Finally, the tie was put to bed, when Laoise Ni hAodha raced down the middle on a breakaway, and sealed the win with another clinical finish from 18 yards.

Aisling Annacotty claim victory over Kilmallock with a late ní hAodha strike

Aisling Annacotty beat Kilmallock in a very entertaining match on Sun 16th. Kilmallock had a good start and grabbed an early goal and were on top for much of the early stages. Aisling managed to turn things around and Finn Pearse got a deserved equaliser before the break after good pressure play. In the second half both teams created chances but excellent performances by both keepers kept the scores level – before Rachel O Dell broke through the Kilmallock defense and score with a fine strike. Kilmallock responded very well and lifted their game to equalise. It was nip and tuck from there on until Laoise ní hAodha grabbed a late goal to seal the win

Aisling Annacotty win against Ballylanders

Aisling Annacotty ran out 4-0 winners against Ballylanders in the second round of the league on Sun Oct 2nd. 2 first half goals by Laoise Ní hAodha put Aisling in command. The second half was a tight affair with both teams creating chances, however Aisling proved too strong in the end and 2 late goals by Rachel O Dell and Emma Donohoe secured the win. Fine performances by Abby McCarthy and Sarah Cleary in defence ensured Ballylanders were kept at bay throughout.

U16s league campaign up and running

Aisling Annacotty Girls U16s got their league campaign underway this week 18/9 with an away fixture to a very strong Regional team. Despite going down to 2 early goals the girls battled hard and were competitive throughout. A fine performance by Alli Reeves in goals kept us in the game right to the end - Laoise Ní hAodha managed to pull one back in the second half - but Regional strength and experience won through in the end winning 3-1. We had a number of U14s who made a big contribution, special mention to Aoibhinn Hayes in defence, Aisling Doran and Anna Carr in midfield and Emma Ryan up front. They worked very well together with our regular players Charlie Hanrahan, Sarah Cleary marshalling in defence and Rachel O Dell and Emma Donohoe who threatened on a number of occasions and were unlucky not to score. Well done girls on a great performance.

Congratulations also to Abby McCarthy - who was selected for the Munster Schools U15s - and will be playing in an inter-pro tournament in Dublin at the end of October. A fantastic achievement and well deserved.